As an administrator, you can use the Google Workspace carbon footprint report to understand the environmental impact of your organization’s use of Google Workspace products.
Open your carbon footprint report
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Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
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In the Admin console, go to Menu
Reporting
Carbon Footprint.
Understand your data
On the overview page, you can review your organization’s total and monthly carbon footprint results, which are based on the usage of Google Workspace applications (Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, Gmail, Google Chat, Meet and Calendar, and Admin services). Admin services include Google Workspace platform services, such as the Google Admin console and identity and access management (IAM). The monthly report also includes a comparison with the previous month's carbon footprint data.
The report was released in August 2023 and incorporates data from May 2023 onward. For new customers, data starts populating after a couple of months of usage. The report currently shows only location-based carbon emissions.
You can view your organization’s carbon footprint for each app at monthly intervals. Monthly data is available for up to 12 months from the last available month.
Analyze results
- Next to the yearly or monthly results, click Show scope breakdown to view how emissions are categorized according to the global standardized framework.
- For Location-based carbon footprint, point to events to review your carbon footprint by Google Workspace app.
- For Location-based carbon footprint by application, click Custom date range and enter a date range to view the total carbon footprint of your applications over that range.
Determining your organization’s carbon footprint
Google calculates carbon footprint data by measuring energy use, regional emission factors, location-based carbon emissions, and non-electricity emissions and allocating them to Google Workspace accounts. Gross carbon emissions are calculated from the Google Cloud computing infrastructure and are then apportioned to data center services, which includes Google Workspace. Total emissions based on usage of Google Workspace applications are then allocated.
Note: The calculations currently do not account for carbon footprint due to Gemini for Workspace features.
Grant users access to carbon footprint reports
To allow users to view your organization’s carbon footprint reports, you can create a custom role and assign it to them.
- Go to Create a custom role and follow the steps to create a role with the Services > Sustainability > Carbon Footprint Reports privilege.
- Follow the steps to assign the custom role.
Users with this privilege can access the carbon footprint report page.
